Why Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Is Up Today

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Caterpillar (CAT) was gaining 0.5% to $107.81 Wednesday after releasing July three-month rolling period sales.

The company said that global machine sales fell 9% year-over-year on a three month rolling basis in July, compared to a 10% drop in June and a 12% drop in May. Sales dropped 29% in the Asia/Pacific segment in July, down from 30% drops in both June and May. The July three-month rolling period saw mining equipment sales drop 33%, compare to a 38% drop in June.

TheStreet Ratings team rates CATERPILLAR INC as a Buy with a ratings score of A-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate CATERPILLAR INC (CAT) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, reasonable valuation levels, growth in earnings per share, increase in net income and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

The stock has not only risen over the past year, it has done so at a faster pace than the S&P 500, reflecting the earnings growth and other positive factors similar to those we have cited here. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year.

CATERPILLAR INC has improved earnings per share by 8.3% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, CATERPILLAR INC reported lower earnings of $5.75 versus $8.49 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($6.25 versus $5.75).

The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500, but is less than that of the Machinery industry average. The net income increased by 4.1% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $960.00 million to $999.00 million.

Regardless of the drop in revenue, the company managed to outperform against the industry average of 3.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 3.2%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.

Global stocks held onto modest gains Tuesday, while U.S. equity futures edged higher, even as investors continued to count the costs of President Donald Trump's 'America First' trade and business policies.